Making Northern Ireland the location of choice for wealth-creating industries of the future
Diamond, DermotORCID: 0000-0003-2944-4839
(2023)
Making Northern Ireland the location of choice for wealth-creating industries of the future.
In: Northern Ireland Manufacturing and Supply Chain Conference and Exhibition, 22 June 2023, Titanic Exhibition Centre, Belfast.
Brexit offers both a threat and an opportunity for research and innovation in Northern Ireland. The opportunity is to create a hub of vibrant R&I activity based around an ambitious vision, one that seeks to move Northern Ireland to the highest level of global competitiveness, building and attracting innovative industries linked to rapidly growing market sectors. Realising this vision will require a concerted effort towards a common goal that spans politics, economics, education, and industry. At the core of this vision is a strategy that seeks to secure the future welfare and prosperity of the people of Northern Ireland, by building mutual respect across communities, and a well-educated and creative society, that is globally recognised for its innovative approaches to solving issues in critical sectors like energy, health, transport, agriculture, fisheries, construction, and the environment. Political and economic support will flow from Westminster, Dublin, Brussels and Washington and progress will rapidly attract significant investment from the private sector. Failure to act will consolidate a divided and fragmented society that cannot deliver this vision, offering only a future of more confrontation, suffering and lost hope.
The scale of the current opportunity is truly transformative. Let us make it happen!